Extremist voices grow louder in UK spurred by Egypt unrest

The violence in Egypt has created an opportunity for a change in power that Islamists around the world are keen to grasp. In cities far from Cairo, they have been demonstrating and openly calling for the installation of Sharia law.

­In London, young men are out on the streets calling for an Islamic state. Hizb ut-Tahrir is an organization linked to terrorist activities throughout the world. It is banned in Russia, and in some Arab countries, including Egypt, but in the UK it is allowed to operate freely.

“In Britain it is very hard for the current legislation to ban Hizb ut-Tahrir. The governments, when they were out of power said they were going to, but I think once they are in power, they have seen how difficult it is with the legislation specifically,” said Robin Simcox from the Center for Social Cohesion. “I think they will carry on monitoring the group, but won’t do anything to proscribe them.”

The trouble in Egypt prompted a London demonstration, with the British arm of Hizb ut-Tahrir jumping on the bandwagon to promote its own Islamic state.

“On Saturday in front of the Egyptian embassy in London there was a big demonstration in support of the uprising in Egypt and the Hizb ut-Tahrir demostration wanted to join the Egyptian demonstration,” said Mustafa Abul Himal from the Quilliam Foundation. “The organizers of the Egyptian demonstration refused. They said this is purely Egyptian for Egyptian demands and Hizb ut-Tahrir has nothing to do with it.”

The influence runs both ways. The Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt’s main opposition and a notable inciter of the current demonstrations is, according to some, a creation of British intelligence.

“The Muslim Brotherhood, if we look into their background, they pretend to be Islamists but they are essentially a fabrication of the globalists, the MI6,” said author and blogger Henry Makow.

Outside Muslim countries, Hizb ut-Tahrir enjoys its strongest support in the United Kingdom. It is organized on university campuses, including Luton, where the Stockholm bomber studied.

Although the organization claims it does not advocate violence, the links are there for all to see. Shoe bomber Richard Reid was influenced by Hizb ut-Tahrir preachers. Two British suicide bombers who attacked a bar in Tel Aviv in 2003 also had contacts with the organization. Bilal Abdullah who tried to detonate car bombs in London and Glasgow in 2007 was influenced by Hizb ut-Tahrir members while studying.

The government’s policy on radical Islamic organizations, while they operate inside the law in the UK, involves dialogue and debate. Groups like Hizb ut-Tahrir are allowed to demonstrate openly in Britain, calling for an end to democracy and the instigation of Sharia law.

The violence in Egypt has already spread to the UK in the form of demonstrations at the embassy, and some are already asking whether every voice with an opinion on Egypt’s future has the right to be heard.